Alejandro’s voice echoed behind her. “Something terrible has happened to my brother.”
Arianne’s legs wobbled. She almost fell walking down the steps. Fortunately, Alejandro caught her hand in the nick of time. However, his grip was a little too tight.
She righted herself and willed herself to calm down. “W-w-we should talk in the living room, okay? T-t-tell me what happened?”
Alejandro waited until she took a seat on the couch before he recounted what happened. “The freight ship we boarded is wrecked. I don’t understand. I’ve ordered countless inspections and made sure that it had no faults and is in top condition. We encountered mild turbulence at sea, but it shouldn’t pose a problem to a ship like that. It… it doesn’t make sense why it’s so weak. Someone must have sabotaged the ship, someone wants to kill me! Or maybe… maybe the target is Mark. I don’t know. I really don’t know. When we were trying to save ourselves, we discovered the lifeboats have been sabotaged as well. Not even one could be used. Everyone onboard… they’re gone, all gone! Except for me! The cargo, the people, all gone!”
Henry’s eyes were wet.
Arianne fought back the bitter tears that were threatening to spill and focused her attention on Alejandro. “How did you get back?”
His body was trembling. He was not sure if it was due to cold or his close brush with death. “B-before the ship went down, Mark… he pushed me to the only piece of floating plank. It was only good enough to hold one man’s weight. I don’t know why he did it. I don’t know why he didn’t let me die! I was in too much shock to react. The water was so cold… He couldn’t withstand it and so he went down under… I’ve already ordered my men to begin search and rescue and to salvage the shipwreck. B-but the sea is rocky and troubled tonight. That part of the sea is known to be treacherous. I… I don’t dare to have any hope. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have invited him on the trip. If I didn’t, he would be fine...”
‘I don’t dare to have any hope’ was as good as saying there was no hope. After hearing these words, the rest of Alejandro’s words were like white noise to Arianne. All she heard was a loud voice in her voice saying over and over again, ‘Mark is dead. He’s never coming back.’
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